This invention relates in general to vehicle seat assemblies and, in particular, to a vehicle seat assembly adapted to be pivoted into defined positions for enabling the vehicle to be more conveniently operated.
More specifically, but without restriction to the particular use which is shown and described, this invention relates to an adjustable seat mechanism for a vehicle wherein the vehicle seat, and an arm rest for the seat, are separately pivotable between two positions which enable the vehicle operator to conveniently operate the vehicle while controlling and monitoring equipment mounted on either the front or rear of the vehicle, or both.
In the operation of construction and industrial machinery such as crawler tractors, it is highly advantageous to provide the greatest ease for the vehicle operator to operate the equipment while observing and controlling the operation of auxiliary equipment positioned on the front and rear of the vehicle. However, in vehicles such as crawler tractors, the operating seat is fixed to face in a forward direction, and various controls for auxiliary equipment associated with the vehicle are mounted in arm rests positioned on either side of the vehicle within reach of the machine operator. Such positioning of the seat, and the auxiliary controls, is quite satisfactory when the operator is using and controlling auxiliary equipment carried at the front of the vehicle, such as a dozer blade. However, such seat structures are inconvenient when the operator must observe and control auxiliary equipment which is carried at the rear of the vehicle, such as a ground engaging ripper, while the tractor is in operation. When a ripper is being utilized on a crawler tractor, the apparatus for raising, lowering, and operating the ripper assembly is secured to the rear of the vehicle. As the crawler tractor pulls the ripper assembly through the earth, the operator must control the depth at which the ripper teeth are extended while the crawler tractor moves forwardly.
Heretofore when the machine operator was using a ripper assembly, the stationary seat required the operator to twist his body in the seat in order to observe rearwardly for controlling and monitoring the ripper operation. Such pivoting of the operator's body within the fixed seat is both tiring and fatiguing, as well as being uncomfortable for even short periods of time. Therefore, it would be quite desirable to enable the operator's seat to be pivoted into a position such that the vehicle operator can observe the ripping operation while the crawler tractor is moving forwardly. The machine operator, therefore, must not only be positioned to observe the ripping operation, but must at all times be able to observe the forward movement of the crawler tractor to insure a proper ripping operation and to prevent an accident.
While certain construction and industrial machinery has been equipped with a pivotable seat assembly, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,424, "Movable Seat Assembly", such seat assemblies are generally used for equipment such as a back hoe, wherein the vehicle is stationary when the auxiliary or accessory equipment carried at the rear end of the vehicle is being operated by the machine operator. Therefore, such seat assemblies have not been designed to provide for the positioning of the vehicle seat to insure simultaneous forward observation, while operating the rearwardly operating equipment, or to insure the operator's convenient accessibility to various controls for steering or controlling the vehicle's forward progress while using the auxiliary equipment at the rear portion of the vehicle.
The present invention provides a pivotal seat construction wherein the seat assembly is pivotable between a forwardly facing direction and an angulated position such that the machine operator may conveniently observe both forwardly and rearwardly of the vehicle. An independently pivotable armrest is positioned adjacent to the vehicle seat assembly, and is positionable parallel to the vehicle seat such that the controls by which the operation of the vehicle is effected are within ready and convenient access to the machine operator at all times in both positions of the vehicle seat.